Star Reaver
by Chibi-Grimmsley
Summary: Galactic Reaver, Starfire and their youngest son, Galacia, travel to Starfire's home planet of Tamaran.
1. Starfire's Humanity

Chapter 1 – Starfire's

"But, Mom!" Axelerant cried.

"No but's about it, Mister," Starfire said, her eyes glowing green. "Now go and wash those dishes before I decide to float you in space for the next week."

I chuckled from my spot on the couch. I had a clear view of the kitchen, so I could see my green-eyed, red-headed son argue with my red-headed alien wife. I felt a pair of eyes on me, so I looked around. I spotted my youngest son, Galacia, peeking at me from around the door of his bedroom. I waved him over to me, his dark blue eyes sneaking glances into the kitchen at his big brother and his mother. He crawled into my lap, his left thumb secure in his mouth.

"Why are Bubba and Mommy fighting in the kitchen, Daddy?"

"Bubba was trying to get out of doing the dishes so that he could go and spend time with his friends, Galacia."

"Reaver! He's doing that thing he does again!"

I set Galacia on his feet and went to the kitchen to see what my alien wife was referring to, regarding our oldest son. I rolled my eyes when I saw what Starfire was freaking out about. Axelerant was doing what any "normal" 17-year-old boy would do and banging his head to the music exiting from the earphones plugged into his iTouch. I reached over and unplugged the noise emitting devices out of the jack of the small electronic device.

"Hey! Oh, hi, Dad," he said, flashing me a smile that reminded me of myself from twenty-five years earlier.

"You do realize that your mother is still 'new' to all of the little human toys and tricks we have in this house, right?"

His eyes flicked to Starfire and back to me in a split second. "What about it? Mom's been on Earth for well over twenty-five years now. I still don't see how she's not used to it, Dad."

I just stood there, one almost completely mechanical eyebrow cocked, and he resumed his task, submerging his starting to flame hands in the soapy dishwater. I smiled at my wife and Galacia, who was standing behind her legs in a generic 4-year-old way. I held my hand out to him so that I could take him to his room and tuck him in for the night. Starfire joined us, her small sad smile the only sign of her hurt from what Axelerant had said. I wrapped my free arm around her waist, allowing her head to rest on my shoulder.

Galacia was still sucking his thumb and rocking his head back and forth to a tune only he could hear. I felt myself smiling at him. I picked him up and settled him on his bed, pulling his faithful yellow and blue sheet and comforter up to his chest and settling it over him. He pulled his thumb out of his mouth long enough to kiss Starfire on the cheek and wrap his arms around my neck in a hug. I patted him on the head, turned off his bedside lamp and gently lead Starfire back to the kitchen.

"Now where did he get off to?"

"Here is a note from him," Starfire stated, holding up a small piece of paper. "It says he finished the dishes and thought it best to at least let us know that he had left to go 'hang out' with his friends from school. What do you think of it, Reaver?"

"He finished his chore as promised, so he went to spend time with the kids he spends time with at school. He'll be fine. He has his fire-starter ability and he has pretty decent control over it unless he gets mad, stressed or flat-out upset. The only one we have to worry about now is our youngest son, Galacia. I'm sure you've noticed that he seems a little…off, even by human standards? He's different and I don't mean in a normal or superhuman way, Starfire."

"He does seem a bit 'out of it,' as you put it. Wouldn't most human children stop sucking their thumbs by age four anyways?" I nodded. "And he seems to always worry about Axelerant, not himself or anything regarding himself. That is even strange for my people when they are at that age."

"When Axelerant is at school tomorrow, I will take him to Doctor Takahashi and have him checked out. He might be on the Autistic end of things."

She nodded. I pulled her to me, my metal joints screeching slightly in protest, letting me know to get Loto to oil them the next day before I took Galacia to our pediatric psychiatrist. We simply stood there in the kitchen for a few minutes, wrapped in each other's warmth and protection, when I felt a slight vibration against my left thigh. It was my cell going off with a call from Loto, no doubt.

"Reaver," I answered.

"_Chrono, its Loto. Any ideas on where your eldest son might be?"_

"Out with friends. Why? And quit calling me Chrono, Redemption. You know I hate to hold onto things from my past. You being the only exception of course, Brother. I've been Galactic Reaver for twenty-plus years now."

"_Yeah, yeah, Brother," _he chuckled, his humor getting the best of me. _"I just saw Axelerant and some of his friends enter a club that is strictly twenty-one and up with photo ID. I bet more than anything he's been throwing your name around to get into the VIP areas. Not to mention, his looks rival those of his mother, Starfire."_

"I'll be sure to chew him out when he gets home," I answered. "And I'll definitely tell my lovely wife that you complimented her looks. Thanks for the update, Redemption."

I closed my phone, slipped it back into my pocket and lead Starfire to our bedroom of the last twenty years. She sat on her edge of the bed, worry etching her features as she looked at me. I squatted down in front of her, taking her gloved hands in mine.

After twenty long and wonderful years, I could tell that I was slowly losing the woman that I loved more than life itself. Being away from her home planet and family for the better part of the last three decades, I knew she would want to go back to where she came from. I managed to talk her into staying until Axelerant graduated from high school and started taking on missions from Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League via the Watchtower and its AI system, Oracle.

"Twenty years in the making and I finally get to meet your parents, Starfire," I smile, still unsure of how it would affect her. "I'm sure that Galacia will feel better once he gets away from other children his age that have been teasing him about being 'different' in more ways than one. I want all of us to be in agreement on this, love."

She just looked at me, smiling her sad smile, like she knew something would either happen to her or our youngest son at some point down the road. She leaned toward me, leaning her forehead against mine, her hands resting on my shoulders like they had so many times in the past when we had first met and fell in love. I looked her straight in the eye and I knew. I just knew. The look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.

"You will not die, Starfire. Your sons need you, the world needs you and I need you. You will NOT die when there are so many that look up to you. When we get there, we can stay as long as it takes for you to recover so that we can spend the next twenty years-"

"No amount of time on or around my home planet will cure me," she says, cutting my hopes off in mid-sentence. "This disease affects one in a million of my people every year. Some get it early in their lives and their suffering ends early. Some get it later and their suffering is prolonged. No matter how far I try to get from Tamaran, I was still affected. Besides, Tamaran is really no longer my home planet after what Blackfire did when she sold our planet's defense secrets to the Citadel, our biggest enemy. And Wildfire, my little brother, never knew a peaceful place like the Tamaran I grew up on. Our parents sent him off in an escape pod before they died, just so that he would never know the bad place that our planet had become no thanks to Blackfire."

I briefly remember her mentioning her younger sibling shortly after we got married. I still wanted her to at least see her home planet, even in passing, before she died. I said as much, making her smile her sad smile again. I stood, pressing her back onto the bed, our lips meeting in a more than passionate kiss. I pulled her shirt off and admired her perfect breasts through her favorite green and silver lacey bra.

I was just about to start nibbling my way down her neck when I heard the back door squeak open and footsteps head toward the kitchen. Good thing I had decided to wait until the coming weekend to put some WD-40 on the hinges. I pecked Starfire's cheek and met Axelerant in the kitchen while she got ready for bed. I cleared my throat to get my oldest son's head out of the fridge. He straightened up immediately, pressing his sunglasses up his nose to cover his blood-shot eyes.

"Where were you for the last few hours, Axelerant Drandel?" I asked, pointedly looking at my wrist where a watch would be. "It's after midnight. You remember that your curfew is eleven-thirty, right? For this you will be grounded and sent to Superman for the next week to help him on missions, whether he requires your help or not."

"Sorry, Dad," he chuckled. "Lost track of time. Studying for finals. You know how that goes…don't you?"

I looked at my wrist again and he scampered off to the bathroom that connected his room to Galacia's to get a shower and sleep off whatever he was doped up on. I rolled my eyes. I was already doing Justice League missions when I was his age after being abducted by one Lex Luthor when I was no older than eleven. I went back to the master bedroom to join Starfire in sweet slumber.

I changed into my pajamas and slipped under the covers, spooning around my wife of twenty years. Her even breathing was enough to lull me to sleep and sweet dreams. My dreams were certainly sweet that night until I heard something buzzing in my ear several times before I felt an arm reach over me to turn it off.


	2. For Tamaran

Chapter 2 – For Tamaran

"Reaver," Starfire whispered in my ear. "Today's the day. Remember that we are leaving for Tamaran this afternoon? Axelerant is staying with your brother, Raven and Rainger while we are gone with Galacia."

I turned over, checked the date on my phone and double checked it against the date on the calendar on the back of our bedroom door. Sure enough, it was the day we were to leave from the Watchtower to head out for Tamaran, Starfire's home planet. And to think that I almost complained about having to get Axelerant off to school and figure my day out. I sat up, pecked Starfire on the cheek, dressed for a hard day and was out the door to the nearest Gotham Safe-House to get to the Watchtower.

"Morning, Reaver! I thought you were heading for Tamaran today?"

"Can it, Flare," I grumbled. "I'm not in the mood for your crappy jokes. I'm aiming for the Watchtower for some easy missions before Starfire, Galacia and I leave for Tamaran this afternoon."

"Galacia? What about Axelerant? Isn't he going with you?"

"Not this trip," I answered. "He's starting his own missions just before we leave under Wonder Woman. Galacia is our youngest. He's four and this is his first trip out of the Solar System."

"Good luck getting to Tamaran then, Reaver," he called, speeding toward the Monarch Playing Card Company.

I finally arrived at the East End PD three minutes later, only to get stopped by my older brother, Loto Drandel, otherwise known as Natural Redemption. He caught my elbow and guided me to a more private corner away from the vendors, cops and other heroes, so as not to be overheard too much. I looked at him like he was a madman…or something very similar. If his plant-based looks didn't freak me out before, they sure as hell did now.

"What's going on with you, Brother? You act like you have no common courtesy, much less any common sense. If it has to do with you and Raven, leave me out of it."

"Raven knows about Starfire's disease. She thinks that it may or may not spread to Axelerant, Galacia or both. She also thinks she has a solution for it, if not for your wife, then at least for your boys, Chrono. Hear my Raven out when you get back, Earth-side?"

I looked at him curiously before nodding my consent. He visibly relaxed and asked to join me at the Watchtower while I scoped out the missions due to the fact that he needed to ask Batman about something regarding his grappling hooks. I shrugged, waving him behind me to the teleporter. We attempted to make small talk but we were interrupted by two things: the first was a squabble between a large winged brute of a man and a (much) smaller Ambush Bug-esque guy, the second being the fact that we were already being teleported to the Watchtower. When we reached our final destination a few minutes later, I turned to Loto with one question in mind.

"How does Raven know about Starfire's condition? And it's not just because they were both part of the Teen Titans years ago, dear brother. It's definitely something else."

"Raven's mother," he replied uneasily. "Arella can see these things through Raven. I don't know how it works exactly, but that's all Raven would really tell me. Please talk to me when you get back to either Earth or the Watchtower?"

I gave him a look that only a sibling could understand, nodded and went in search of one of Oracle's Kiosks scattered all over the Watchtower. I ran into Volcanic Flare in the Central Hub, noticing that he was favoring both his left leg and wing, not to mention the left side of his face was beaten to a bloody pulp. Then I realized that he was the winged brute Loto and I had seen fighting the smaller guy, who had obviously gotten the better of the larger man, in the police station. I almost winced when he stopped in front of me.

"You look like shit, Flare," I noted. "I would ask who got the better deal, you or the meat grinder, but I know better. You might want to go and get checked out by Wonder Woman or someone in the Magic Wing to get your wounds and bruises healed before you go on any more missions."

I tried to step around him, but he sidestepped to cut me off. His super speed was too much for my acrobatics, so I stopped while I was ahead and waited for the brute to fall over, either from excruciating pain or out of sheer and utter exhaustion.

"Let me come with you, Reaver," he gasped. "I would like to get away from all the duels and missions for a while. When did you say you were leaving for Tamaran this afternoon?"

"Around four-ish," I replied, cocking an eyebrow. "Seriously, Flare. Go talk to someone in the Magic Wing about those injuries. And we could use some brute force as protection should I be knocked out or what not."

He caught my word play on his size and body build, his laugh quickly turning into a coughing fit as he allowed me to pass and he went on his way to see Wonder Woman or someone else with healing knowledge in the Magic Wing of the Watchtower. I smiled and found the nearest kiosk with a mission that I knew I could complete with enough time to get home, get cleaned up and help Starfire pack for our Out of System trip.

Three-thirty finally arrived, allowing me to finish up my mission and head home to my wife and youngest son. I got home around three-forty-five to see Starfire already at the door with Galacia and multiple bags as if we were to be gone a month or more. I smiled and pulled my wife into a tight hug, Galacia wrapping his arms around mine and Starfire's legs. My right hand landed on his head, ruffling his dark red hair. He smiled up at us, making us both laugh at his innocence.

"What's with all the bags, Star? It looks like you packed us for a month, if not longer."

"We'll only be gone for three weeks, but Galacia insisted on bringing at least two bags of his favorite toys and books. He doesn't do well in the sleep pods. Remember the trip we took to Saturn last summer? He was wide awake the whole time and complaining."

I nodded, remembering that Galacia had trouble getting and staying in his assigned sleep pod for the trip to Saturn and back. I had to stay awake for three-quarters of the way there and back, not to mention for the trip around the planet itself. I grabbed all but one of the bags, the lightest for Starfire to carry, and told her that they could catch up to me at the Watchtower and at our assigned ship. I made it to the right slot just as Volcanic Flare saw me drop my bags off with one of the Sentinels of Magic employed by Doctor Fate and assigned to help out on the Watchtower from time to time.

"Reaver! I was just looking for you when Zatanna told me you were just arriving to drop your bags off at your ship."

"Trust Zatanna to always know where everyone is at all times. I remember when she helped us help Raven expel Trigon from her soul and to help keep Faust from claiming the Flame of Life from Black Adam. Fun times, all of it. Remember, Flare?"

The large, flame throwing, winged speedster laughed a deep, genuine laugh just as I saw the femme Homo Magi walking toward us with Starfire and Galacia, smiling at my son as she did little magic tricks that got him giggling. She waved to me and called out in her usual backwards speaking spell-casting way.

"Doog Kcul," she whispered in my ear. "I know you'll need it, Chrono Drandel. Can you keep an eye on your dad for me now, Galacia? I think you're old enough to carry that mission out for the Justice League. I can only do so much to keep our people safe."

"I will, Miss Thatanna," he purposefully lisped, making us all laugh.

Zatanna, now starting to gray at the temples, ruffled Galacia's dark red hair in her affectionate way of dealing with children under the age of ten. I was grateful at that point that I had known this woman for the better part of the last 25 years. We shared a quick friendly hug when I felt her slip something that felt like a rounded shrimp into my back pocket. I knew it was an Exobyte.

"The cure for your brother's…predicament, Chrono," she whispered. "Just in case you want to give it to Loto when you get back groundside. I know how he's been waiting for a long time for this, but I'm sure his patience can hold out for another three weeks. Our people at STAR Labs cracked a few of the Exobytes we salvaged from Brainiac. It's the first in a series that will help Loto regain his more human appearance. We'll see you in three weeks, guys and gals. Break a leg, Chrono!"

I smiled my thanks as I ushered Starfire and Galacia onto the ship for Flare to say his mushy good-byes to the woman he fell in love with. He joined us just as the ship doors were starting to close five minutes later. I sighed with relief that we were finally getting away from humanity for at least a short period of time. I sat in the captain's seat so that I could get Tamaran's coordinates into the ship's navigation system and get the sleep pods ready for Starfire and Flare. I could feel Galacia at my elbow admiring my hands flying over the controls. I settled him onto my lap so that he could get a better view of my hands at work on the controls, his toys and books forgotten for the time being.


	3. Tamaran in Sight

Chapter 3 – Tamaran in Sight

"Why is everything glowing red, Daddy?"

"We're getting close to Mommy's home planet, Galacia," I answered, smiling. "Remember our trip to Saturn?" He nodded. "Think of it like that, only we might get to walk on the planet surface. Do you want to wake Mommy and Uncle Flare up?"

His eyes brightened and I pointed at the buttons and levers he needed to press and pull to deactivate the Sleep Pods that his mother and "uncle" were in. A few minutes later, I felt Starfire's hands on my shoulders and the tip of a feathered wing brushed past my right ear as Flare took his place in the Co-Pilot's seat. Galacia looked up over his shoulder at me, his look asking me to show him how to slow the ship down enough so that we wouldn't impact on the planet surface. I wiggled my fingers, his eyes intent on my hands as I took a little extra time to slow the ship down.

"Someone is interested in space travel. No wonder he couldn't sleep during the Saturn trip, Reaver."

I glared at my large best friend and he automatically stopped laughing, although he kept his smile to let me know that he still thought my situation was humorous. I was thinking about reaching over and punching him in the shoulder but thought better of it being that I didn't want to break my hand, cybernetics or not. I turned back to the task at hand only to see that Galacia had taken over when I paused to glare coldly at my friend. His small hands were having trouble reaching all the right buttons, so I resumed my task to give him a break and so that he could continue to watch and learn from what I did at the controls. I smiled when he reached over and hit the final button that was just out reach for my thumb.

"We should be safe now. Right, Daddy?"

I nodded when we reached normal space around Tamaran. I felt Starfire squeeze my shoulders twice in almost joyful anticipation.

"There are no more Citadel ships here to check us out. That must mean that my people have found a way to fight back and drive the Citadel away. I just hope that Blackfire has changed her ways from serious traitor to fun-loving sister to me and aunt for her youngest nephew."

I laid my right hand over hers and gently squeezed her fingers in comfort. I looked up to see her smiling in genuine happiness. Galacia started to squirm in my lap so I set him on his feet and he happily went off to play with his toys. Flare set to the task of getting the ship into orbit until we were contacted by the Tamaranean Space Collaborative. I unlocked my seat belts, stood and stretched. I was grateful I had commissioned a ship with a full functioning bathroom that included shower, toilet and sink. I patted Flare on the shoulder, pecked Starfire on the cheek and went to clean up.

After being strapped into the pilot's seat for anywhere between 22 and 25 hours total, I knew I was in need of a good cleaning, especially with a squirming 4-year-old on my lap for 16 of them. I grabbed a towel and a bar of soap, making my way for the bathroom toward the back of the ship. I felt someone watching me, so I decided on a quick mental sweep of the other three on the ship. I looked over my shoulder, but no one was there.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," I teased. "I know someone is there. Just because I can't see you, that doesn't mean I don't know you're there. Now come out before I force you out under some serious mental pain."

Flare and Starfire were still in the main control room and Galacia was by the sleep pods, playing with his hero action figures. I felt a familiar twang in the brain waves of whoever was following me and hiding in the shadows. I smiled when I realized that it was Raven, my brother's ever faithful wife of the last 20 years.

"I know it's you, Raven. You can stop hiding in the shadows of this ship. And unless you want to seem unfaithful to Loto, I suggest you pull your astral form back to your own body on Earth."

"Why would I go back to Earth now of all times, _Uncle?"_

The last carefully enunciated word caught me off guard. The mind that I had thought belonged to my sister-in-law actually belonged to my only niece, Rainger Drandel. I almost dropped my towel had I not composed myself at the last possible second. Rainger has her mother's pasty gray skin and bob style haircut. The rest of her looks belonged to my older brother, Loto. Her hair was the shade of the sands of Egypt, her eyes are the color of twilight just before dawn, and her height is comparable to my own, only curvier like Raven's. I grabbed her and hugged her close to me, more in grievous joy than anything else. I reprimanded myself for not doing a more thorough sweep of the ship, both physical and mental.

"How did you get past your parents, girl?" I asked, holding her at arm's length now. "And don't even think about lying to me, Rainger Drandel. I've known you for your entire life. Lying as always been a weak point for you and your mother both."

"Mom knew I was coming and Dad knew he couldn't stop me, regardless of what he tried. And I figured you could use a little extra help from Mom's side of the family."

I had to chuckle at that last little piece, telling her where everyone was. She gave another quick hug before running off to the control room to spend time with her Aunt Starfire and "Uncle" Flare. I entered the relatively small bathroom to see that it only housed the sink and toilet.

I realized that the shower was probably in another closet like space on another level of the ship. I was fine with just the sink and toilet because I didn't want to risk my cybernetics getting shorted and kill me, leaving Galacia without a father and Starfire without a husband. I found a wash rag in the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and got it wet in the sink. I lathered it up with soap, washing my natural skin and being careful not to let too much moisture get to my joints.

I was just rinsing the rag out when I heard a metallic knock on the doorframe behind me. I turned just enough to see Flare standing there with Rainger behind his left shoulder, barely visible around his wing.

"Hey, Flare," I said, patting my skin dry. "What's up? Did you two need something in the control room? Or did something happen to Galacia?"

"We were hailed two minutes ago by someone calling themselves Windfire," Rainger said, pushing gently past Flare. "And Galacia is fine, Uncle. I'm guessing that this Windfire person is a relative of Aunt Starfire's, but that's just my take on it. We're ready when you are."

"Alright. Just let me finish up here, get Galacia ready and then we can head out. Tell your Aunt Starfire that we need deeper family history before we go though, Rainger."

She nodded, attempting to use her water control ability to get her frizzing hair to flatten out as much as possible with the moisture from my wash rag and walking away to get Galacia. I folded the rag and set it on the closed toilet lid while I hung the towel around my neck and made my way back to the control room with Flare. When I got to the control room, I saw that Rainger had deposited my son into my seat and took over Flare's position in the co-pilot's chair. I cleared my throat, making the teen jump at most an inch off her seat. She quickly evacuated Flare's chair and tapped Galacia on the shoulder. I draped the towel over the back of my seat, grabbed my son and sat down, turning the COM unit on to see who was this "Windfire" was.

"This is Galactic Reaver speaking," I said loud and clear, careful not to let my metal joints interfere with the connection. "To whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking at this point it time?"

"This is Windfire," came a masculine voice from the other end. "We see you are traveling in Justice League issued vessel. That must mean that Starfire is with you. I have been waiting my entire twenty-three years to meet my cousin."

Starfire stared at me, her eyebrows pulling together in a frown. "Neither of my parents had any siblings that I knew of. The Royal Family almost always had at least one child with my abilities that ascended to the throne. If there wasn't a child born like me, they would choose one from among the commons in the surrounding cities, towns and villages. That is how it has been for generations and how I was taught growing up before the Citadel came."

I returned to the COM unit. "Did you catch all that, Windfire? Starfire knows nothing of any family outside of her older sister, Blackfire, and younger brother, Wildfire."

"Your mother still has some common roots, Starfire," he replied. "Her younger brother is my father. You also have another little cousin, who is four now. Her name is Swampfire."

I could hear the laughter in his voice as he explained where we would be teleported to on the planet surface. I stood with Galacia in my arms, Flare following my lead to the teleporters. Starfire looked about ready to pass out from all of the information about her family and Rainger was still having trouble with her frizzing hair. I chuckled at my niece and her antics to get her hair to lay flat.

"Everyone ready?" I asked looking around at our sad, but healthy group.

Starfire took three deep breaths, Flare ruffled his feathers one last time, Rainger flipped up her hood in frustration and Galacia buried his face in the crook of my neck. I nodded, hitting the button that would get the ship's onboard teleporter working. I stepped into the teleporter first when it was humming and warm to the touch.


	4. Solid Ground Again

Chapter 4 – Solid Ground Again

I stepped off the planet-side teleporter pad, fresh air greeting my nose after the stuffiness of the ship and the starting to smell 4-year-old in my arms. I was almost instantly greeted by a man a good 20-plus years my junior with bright orange hair and black eyes set into a face similar to my wife's. He started coming at me, arms open as if to gather me and my son into a big hug. I saw a quick red and purple body streak past me and meet our host before he got anywhere close to me.

"Looks like Starfire recognized Windfire now that she's seen him. I wish I could be like that with long lost family of my own."

"Don't get your hopes too far up there, Flare. She hasn't been here for close to three decades, my friend. How would you feel if you either haven't seen or never knew you had family after thirty long years away from your home planet?"

He shrugged, his wings shifting as his shoulder blades moved under his skin. Galacia squirmed and I set him down, allowing him to run to his mother and wrap his arms around her legs. I smiled, Rainger laying her left hand on my right shoulder, Flare continuously shifting his wings. Starfire explained things to Windfire in their native language and did a small round of introductions, our names the only things I could pick up amongst the flurry of sounds. After a good 20 minutes or so of catching up on the last 30-plus years, Starfire turned to me with her hand held out.

"He wishes for us to join him for dinner at the dwelling he shares with his family. He thinks that our Galacia will get along fine with Swampfire after a good, hot meal. I am eager for something to eat anyways, Reaver."

I heard three other stomachs grumble, knowing that one of them belonged to yours truly. I did a quick mental sweep of Starfire's cousin to see that what he said was the truth about everything, from his father's bloodline right down to Swampfire being Galacia's age.

"I could go for just about anything right now, my sweet," I said. "Besides, I've been wanting to try some good home cooking on Tamaran."

Everyone laughed, including Windfire. I smiled as we followed Starfire's cousin to his home for a good meal. We made small talk, asking about landmarks and how the Citadel got defeated. I asked about the rest of Starfire's family, wondering if her older sister, Blackfire, had returned to her normal carefree ways and if her younger brother, Wildfire, had decided to come back to his home planet after being gone from it his whole life.

"Blackfire died during the confrontation with the Citadel, just after her release from our off world prison chambers. Wildfire has yet to return. I am unsure if he even knows of his origins. He was sent off as in infant, so I am not sure if he will ever return."

"Blackfire…is dead?" Starfire asked, shock coloring her tone. "But she was…is…my sister and she never would have let herself get killed regardless of her jealousy of me. There is no way she can be dead and gone from my life."

I nodded when she looked at me in assurance. She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and burying her face in my chest. I held her as she cried in her grief over her sister's death. After a few minutes, she was cried out and Windfire guided us the rest of the way in silence to his family's home.

When we got there, a small black and yellow blur aimed itself at Windfire's legs, almost making the young man lose his balance. He laughed as the blur took the shape of a 4-year-old girl with black hair and a yellow outfit similar to what Starfire wore as a teenager. I heard my wife's quick intake of breath and instantly knew that this young girl was the spitting image of Blackfire as a child, only the outfit was colored differently. Swampfire had wrapped her arms and legs around her brother's legs, her squeals of joy telling us how happy she was that he had made it home in time for the family dinner.

"My sister, Swampfire," he smiled, prying his sister's limbs from around his legs. "She has yet to actually start talking, but she has obviously found a way to express herself through sound. It's unusual, but we've managed the last two years."

"I wonder what that means for our people," Starfire murmured. "I started talking at age three, Blackfire at two, from what Mother and Father told me. I'm not sure about Wildfire because he's been away his whole life."

She looked at me when she said this last part and I shrugged. I felt a tug on my pants leg and looked down. Swampfire was looking at me with a pout and whimpering while pointing at Galacia. I could tell she wanted to play with my youngest so I nodded after a quick questioning glance at my wife's cousin, who also nodded. Her face brightened and she toddled off toward Galacia and wherever it was the children played at in these parts. A sudden, not-my-own thought popped into my head from somewhere in the house, more toward the back.

"Who's in the house, Windfire?" I asked, somewhat bluntly.

"My parents," he replied quickly, confusion coloring his tone. "Mom should be in the kitchen making dinner and Dad is usually setting the table. They agreed to use the special dishware being that we have some special company. And you saw Swampfire run off with Galacia. I don't know if we're expecting-"

He was cut off by a sudden scream from the back of the house, where I got the thought from and where I assumed the kitchen was. I swept in and raced to the back of the house, the other four adults close on my heels. I saw a young man, no older than Windfire, holding a barbaric looking knife against the throat of an older woman, presumably Starfire's aunt. She looked at us, pleading for us to leave while we could with her eyes.

"Who are you and what do you want with my mother?" Windfire growled.

"She has secrets to tell my people on how to defeat this sorry excuse of a planet again," sneered the man with the knife. "She was in the palace when the Citadel first invaded, more than forty-seven years ago. It's a shame she didn't die with the royal family at the time."

"Wildfire?" Starfire stepped forward. "Is that really you? It's only been thirty-two years since the Citadel invaded our planet. It's me, Starfire. I'm the youngest of your two older sisters. Blackfire is…was older than me by a year, maybe two, and you were born just after the Citadel invaded. I had to leave when I was fourteen, so that I could help preserve our family line and the royalty in our blood."

"But I am of the Citadel," he insisted, his grip tightening on his hostage. "I have no true family. They all died in the Tamaran Take-Over when…when…way back when!"

I patted Starfire on the shoulder and stepped forward. I gently pressed into his mind to see what he was truly thinking. I felt five pairs of eyes on us as I traveled lightly through (and gently tweaked) Wildfire's earliest memories. He truly didn't remember his parents or either of his sisters. He had to grow up without his family, which tore me up more than ever. I could never imagine my live without my older, freak of nature (pun inteneded) brother, Loto. Mom and Dad died just after the initial Brainiac attack, so they lived long, mostly normal lives…no thanks to me running off at age 11 and Loto being recruited to the Justice League at 16.

I pulled out of his mind and motioned for everyone behind me to give the man some thinking room. The only two people that knew I had done something were Flare and Starfire. Windfire and his parents didn't know that I had slightly influenced Widlfire's earliest memories so that he would at the very least recognize the woman at my right shoulder, who just so happened to be in the verge of hyperventilating in my ear.

"Calm down, Star," I whispered. "He'll come around in a few seconds, I'm sure. Just don't so anything sharply sudden or you'll freak him out and he'll kill her."

I directed the last part more at Windfire and his parents, but I saw Starfire nod in my peripheral vision that she understood. I heard Flare chuckle just behind my wife at what I had done. Windfire was at my right elbow in an instant. I could feel him shaking with both anger at the young man holding his mother hostage and fear that he would kill her out of pure spite. I sort of knew how he felt because of Loto and our bond. I looked at him fiercely and pushed him back so that he didn't disturb my brother-in-law with his rash behavior. I returned my gaze back to Wildfire to see that clarity had returned to his eyes and he was thinking a little more clearly.

"Starfire?" he asked. "Why did you and the rest of the family abandon me? I would have wanted the opportunity to grow up and fight the Citadel. Instead, I am abandoned by my own family in space and I'm taken in by the very people my planet is fighting against."

"We didn't want to abandon you, Wildfire," she answered, gracefully playing along. "I tried to talk Mother and Father into keeping you on the planet, but they didn't want you to grow up fighting a near impossible enemy to defeat."


End file.
